Important Items and Figures:
The Heartseeker
The Heartseeker is an ancient artifact of unknown age and quality. It is known that this artifact has had a great influence over the events, although due to the nature of its undefined magical power, no one knows exactly how it has affected the world. A few instances have been recorded, engraved in time as legends that surround it. One of the legends suggests that there is a penalty to using the Heartseeker, and it is that to be used to it�s full potential, �Someone must be sacrificed, willingly, and without regret.� Some notables that have possessed the artifact are: Dhaos the first Terran Chief, August Mitchell, the deadly criminal, and Tito, the greatest and last Andante king.
The Silence
The Silence is a notable firearm with no truly exceptional merits. It is a high-caliber revolver made by a top gunsmith. With only 6 bullet slots, it never seemed to be special, because semi-automatics had already been invented. But, each of those slots could fit custom bullets, like armor-piercing, exploding, and poisoned ones. It has a powerful spring-back device that depends solely on the user to fire repeatedly. But its true merit came from its user, Yume Amakusa, who was a brutal killer, who, it was said, was so fast that he was gone before the scream could be heard by anyone. Many accounts accredit this to the Silence, but no one knows the truth to the rumors.
The Singing Sword
An ancient artifact created by the Terrans. It is the key that unlocks the gateway between the Web of Light and the Web of Darkness. It was created by matching the vibrations of the sword to the song of the Webs. It was later broken, in order that no one would be able to use it again, but it was pieced together again, not retaining its original power. But, the man who owned it used it in an experiment to bring back his wife. When the soul of his wife entered the sword, it regained its wholeness and when, later, the soul was removed, the Singing Sword was reborn.
G�a
Unlike what you would expect, G�a has nearly nothing to do with the Earth or world in general. It is the guardian of the Sphere of Desire. Only when G�a is killed, could the Sphere be used. But anyone who killed G�a would be damned forever with eternal life and suffering. Whoever would be damned would live forever, unable to die.
Sphere of Desire
It is a sort of �Magic Lamp� of sorts, it can grant whoever used it any one wish they desired, but at the price of releasing The Chaos. And the only way to re-use it, though, was to create a paradox. It would be to undo everything that the wish, and The Chaos, had done. Once the Sphere of Desire was used, it would grant a wish. Also, you would be immune to The Chaos.
The Chaos
The Chaos slowly seeps into unassuming passers by, and creates incurable diseases among the men and women who were infected by The Chaos. But it does not stop there; it would also create monsters, which would kill all those who escaped the plagues with their lives. And sometimes it even changes humans into monsters and would infect water with the infamous �Devil Syndrome,� which when drunk, allow humans to turn into monsters as they please. This may not sound so atrocious, but when bandits and such start being able to transform into monsters it is not very pleasant.
Nyaro
An ancient Uncreated being that had a hand in the creation of the Webs of Light and Darkness, Nyaro is the force that decided about the means of sustenance in the Webs of Light and Darkness. It brought life to plants, and provided the world with something to sustain itself to eat and to drink. Nyaro also provided Light and Darkness, and the difference between the two. Nyaro is also responsible for the two worlds more directly than the other two Uncreated beings. Nyaro, curious of the nature of the created beings of life, made the Sphere of Desire and gave it to the Web of Light.
Ymir
Ymir is the Uncreated being that brought life to the Webs of Light and Darkness. Ymir created life, and was the one to plan the 4 races. Ymir had not, though, created the spirits of nature. Ymir was also the one who suggested that they not interfere with the interactions of the created beings of life until the Webs of Light and Darkness truly would be unfit for them. Ymir�s gift to the Web of Light was the Heartseeker.
Rhea
Rhea is the ancient Uncreated being that crafted the lands and seas of the Webs of Light and Darkness. Rhea gave the land to the spirits of nature for them to take care of before the created beings of life were created. Rhea had been first to favor the Web of Light, and wished to do more for the place, but when Ymir and Nyaro insisted that they not interfere, Rhea took her favor and gave it to the Web of Darkness, causing it to be inhabited mostly by spirits of nature. Rhea, in spite, gave the Web of Light 2 whirlpools and a ravenous beast. One of the whirlpools would reside in the Northern Zero Sea, and the other one would lie in the Separation Strait between Hei-Lan, Edo and G�lap. The beast was the Sea Worm.
The Norns
These ageless beings are the ones who govern fate. The three Norns--Skuld, Urd, and Verd--are a very ambiguous bunch. They always appear together, but their forms may change from time to time. Sometimes they might appear as angels, other times as dogs, and still other times as old ladies. Skuld and Urd are very high-strung and serious, but Verd seems to always be able to balance it out with a little light-hearted humor. Their goals usually aren�t very clear, and the only things known for sure about them are what they have left in the world in the forms of the ancient legends, which say that they only truly reveal themselves to ones whose lives can have enormous effects on the world, those individuals who the Norns themselves have no power over. They always appear in similar forms, often actually being identical to one another visually. They are also sometimes known as the Fates.
Hotohori
Known as the �Dusk,� it is the gift given from Rhea to the Web of Darkness. Its power sustains the Web of Darkness when the uncreated beings are away. But, it was later taken, stolen, and used by a conqueror to take over most of the Web of Darkness. Because of this, when Rhea returned to the Web of Darkness, it was sealed. Rhea was not alone in the creation of the magnificent blade, either. It was forged of the remains of a great sea serpent, tempered with the serpent�s blood, and blessed by nature spirits and even the Norns. One masterful enough to brave the long caverns that hold it, and unseal the artifact could now only release it. But, it has little to no value as a weapon, but instead is more of a magical artifact and is sometimes used as a shield, to seal something away.
Lion�s Edge
A sympathetic spirit who watched as Rhea crafted the Hotohori, wanted to create a similar artifact for the Web of Light. It was called the �Lion Tamer.� The artifact lacked in any value at all. It was stolen by a human ninja, and used, until it broke and was thrown away. Ice spirits found it, repaired it, and gave it to a passing traveler. That man, the 3rd Rotheimer exorcist, used it to entrap a malignant spirit called Edge. It became cursed. But, eventually the blade found its way to the Zero Islands, where it was sealed, as a demon weapon. Within the blade, the power of the demon, Edge, grew; and with it, the power of the sword. Its power eventually peaked, but the demon blade still grows in vengeance.
Runes
From the Age of Spirits, there was a need to communicate through a consistent language. Out of the kindness of their hearts, the Uncreated beings taught the spirits over 650 runes. But, due to the extensive number of runes, they could not easily be remembered or pronounced. So, they became only written after a while. They were remembered by associating them with their shape, meaning, and number. But, when the Age of Spirits passed, the created beings of life would forsake the runes in favor of their own creations of languages. They only used runes when using them in magic. The spirits, needing communication, favored the runes again, but now as spoken word. The only race that ever learned to use it again was the monsters.
E.K.S.
A historical discovery pioneered by the scientists at Creed. Many robots had already been used in areas across the Main Continent and Outer Continents. They were used mostly for menial tasks. But their metal circuitry was expensive, dangerous, and difficult to work with. A farmer-turned scientist pioneered the discovery. He made the first Electronic Kaolin System. These are, unlike older models of robots, not made of metal, and are instead made of a white porcelain material called Kaolin. This allows them to be easily mass-produced, and this way, they are also more durable and lighter. Kaolin is also a replaceable material, unlike metal. It would forever revolutionize the labor in the Web of Light.
Imajin
It is the pinnacle of technology in the Web of Darkness. When the first humans found their way there by using the Singing Sword, they settled. Eventually, technology grew to this. It would do anything commanded, anything imaginable, simply by willing it, without even having to lift a finger. Many scorned the Imajin, for different reasons. Some, because they knew it would cripple the future generations, and others believed it would cripple reproduction.
The Trinity
A group of 3 ancient spirits that became hostile towards humans in the years after the Age of Spirits. The three are Edge, Shadow and Drought. They are all aligned with fire. They chose fire because it allowed them to wreak havoc more efficiently against humans. But when the exorcist Rotheimer trapped Edge, Shadow and Drought went into a state of hibernation. Later, though, when Edge was used in the form of the Lion�s Edge, as a sword, it brought Shadow and Drought back into the world. They used their shape-shifting powers and shifted into human form to punish the humans they had damned. Their power had also grown in hibernation.
The Wise One
The Wise One is the result of a fusion between a Terran and an ancient spirit. The Wise One is also the first created being of life to ever be able to cast high level attack spells as well as high-level support and healing spells. The Wise One perfected the art of creature creation and summoning, and was a cruel mad-scientist type. The Wise One is a magical genius, but The Wise One was killed in battle.
The White Cross
An army of knights not truly affiliated with any area except for their own islands. They are a secret society whose values uphold what they believe to be �Right, True and Justified.� They use that as their motto, and it is written on their insignia. Justice, they believe, supercedes all the other values. If the cause is justified, then it is right and true. But, their main mission is to obey the pleas of the world. If someone wants to drastically change the Web of Light, but the people do not wish for that change to occur, then they will prevent it. If, on the other hand, the people wish for it to occur, then they will see to it that the world is changed. Their leader is Elisabeth Lang, the seer.
The Rieda Academy of Magic
The Rieda Academy of Magic is an establishment in the Andante area that has often been deemed very seedy, shady, and untrustworthy. The members of the Academy have no mutual trust in each other, either, very seldom share their findings. It is also a place to hire men who could protect the members on their journeys to find ancient relics that would teach them more about magic. But the Academy is more than just a place where the shady mages go. Many who have magical talents enroll in their programs to learn magic and such from willing professors.
The Races of the Webs of Light and Darkness:
Spirits
As a race, they are the most powerful in existence. Their words, as they speak in the runic tongue, are magic. Some characteristics are that they do not have coherent forms, and often change form. They can choose to reside in items, plants, the land, water or such things. But, they do not contain any classification of any kind, as they can change form and venue as they so choose. The exception is when they change into the guise of other races. When they do this, they can only change into �spirit form,� in which they exist as glowing light. Spirits do not die, but can be sealed.
Humans
They are the most dominant race in the Web of Light, and are the first race to have had some of their people, find their way to the Web of Darkness. Their characteristics are their dark brown to light peachy skin tone, they have thick hair on their heads and scant hair otherwise. They stand upright and speak their own tongue. Not many humans have magic abilities, although they are brutal and warlike. Generally they tend to be greedy and selfish. They span about 50 years of life. Their original island was Edo.
Monsters
These creatures started very similar to humans, except that they had sharper ears, very deep blue eyes and sometimes had wings. But eventually, they evolved into many subspecies of monsters that have become very well adjusted and also powerful. Depending on their specific subspecies, monsters� life spans can range from 30 to 130 years. They have studied the runic tongue, and use that. But because they are somewhat unused to the runic tongue, not many monsters have the ability to use the runes as commandingly as spirits. Their technologies are very advanced, and so is their culture and so are their weapons. They are very peaceful amongst themselves, although they fear and despise other races. They sealed themselves away in the dark islands by putting up a powerful barrier. Their original islands were Kamatari, G�lap and Boon.
Animals
These creatures have no language whatsoever. They communicate with each other in movements, gestures, smells, and vibrations through the air. They are the most advanced, evolution-wise, and they are insanely powerful. They are, physically, the strongest race. But their lack of development of weapons and their mistrust amongst subspecies has halted their progression. Their islands were Ochitta, Sain, Toin, the Anima islands, what is now known as the White Cross confederacy, and the now-sunken island of San Cerit�. They live about 60 years each. Physically, their forms range from the smallest insects to the most gruesome tigers.
Terrans
Terrans are the meek and peaceful race. They don�t even have weapons. The Terrans let humans and animals take over the island, which was theirs with nearly no resistance. They were eventually driven to a corner, in which they would enter a cave that they would live in for 9,000 years. They have their own tongue, and like to keep to themselves. They are very old fashioned. But just because they gave up their island, they are no weak race. They are very powerful, sometimes comparable to animals, and their magic supercedes the monsters, and is very close to the level of the Spirits. But they always resist urges to fight back, or to bear arms. They live for thousands of years at a time.
Demon Children
This class of race is the most feared in all of the Web of Light, although many cannot tell them apart from average humans. These are the spawn from the copulation of a human and a monster. Most of these children are created when the subspecies of monsters, Incubus, infiltrates humans� beds and impregnate their women. But, there are other cases. Their characteristics are very distinct, with either deep red or silver hair, deep brown skin tone, and blood-red eyes. They are generally more muscular than humans, taller, and they have a characteristic called �Devil Blood.� Born, ridiculed, and cursed with �demonic� power, a great misfortune and great gift. The �Devil Blood� causes a great power to emit from within the person, a power greater than pure monsters or even spirits have, that grows drastically each day, but is more often than not uncontrollable. It also sometimes makes the person go insane. Physical power is also greater than most animals. Demon Children, if not killed, live thousands of years.
Nymph
The result of the rarest copulation, between a Terran and any other race. It is also very rare that that sort of mating will be successful, but when it does happen, a Nymph is born. They are like humans, but are born, and stay, only as large as a human child�s palm. Nymphs also have wings, and they lack color. They are very difficult to see, as they are tiny and are close to colorless. Very rarely do Nymphs wear clothes. There are not very many Nymphs in the Web of Light. They are very often compared to the ancient spirits in quality.
Beasts
These strange creatures are the result of the unlikely copulation between a monster and an animal, mostly when animals are on a rampage and rape monsters. In 90% of the cases, the female dies during birth. These creatures are very large and strong. They are usually scaled, have terrifying claws, and have incredible magic power. They do not have language, but their instincts provide them with enough to live by. They are also very feared by all, and are incredibly difficult to kill.
Elves
An elite subspecies of monsters who have increased magic power, intelligence, and immortality. They do not like to intermingle with other races, and live secluded, in forests, with barriers around their territories. They are highly powerful in every sense, but they do not reproduce, for the most part. No one knows of their existence except for the spirits who live in tune with them.
Types of Magic:
Runic Magic
Classified by written word and a strange tongue, it is the language of the spirits. Monsters have also learned runic magic, and it is very potent. The runic word is absolute, and it can be used for magical attacks and defenses. They are divided into 3 major groups: change, creation and destruction.
Terran Magic
Using the Terran tongue and one�s own power and determination, one can bend the fabric of space to use in methods completely left up to the user. Very similar to runic magic, but all the spells are very different. Also, no Terran magic has the ability to heal.
Summon Magic
It is a cruel form of alchemy and science interwoven with the forbidden magic of teleportation. Very often, the users of summon magic create misshapen creatures, play with their shapes, and fuse together unnatural creatures. These creatures are then kept in magical cages, or seals, to be called temporarily by using special teleportation magic. But, the teleportation is only temporary. It requires a great deal of power to use.
Shaman Magic
Shamans have the power to communicate both with spirits and with souls of the dead. It is a gift one must be born with. Shaman magic is the ability to use one�s own body or a tool as the temporary body to be used by a spirit or soul. The Shamans can fuse these souls with weapons and use their powers that way. But the more common way of using it is to fuse the spirits or souls with one�s body and temporarily have 2 souls in 1 vessel, thereby raising all potentials and powers to their limits.
Necromancy
Necromancers are the mages who use the bodies of the dead for their usage. A common misconception is that they only use dead bodies to battle with. But, they also can use other inanimate objects, reanimate them using Necromancy, and use them as weapons. They are also notorious for bargaining with the shadier souls and such.
Geomancy
Using the powers of the Webs of Light and Darkness, Geomancers use very powerful magic. But, their magic comes from the spirits around them. They, do, though, have the ability to control weather, and, for example, bring rain or drought to an area. They are known in some areas as Fusui. Most of their power is divided into the 4 main groups: Solids, liquids, gasses and energy.
Alchemy
The power of change. Their main goal originally was to find a way to turn a normal substance into gold. Unable to do that, they began other research. They eventually crafted ingenious techniques by using minimal amounts of magic to craft very useful objects from useless junk. This would allow them to easily make those products and sell them for gold.
Forbidden Magic
This power is very restricted. It is the power to change things with nothing but will. Very few spells in this category have been known to work repeatedly. But no one knows yet, in full, the way that it works.
History:
Before the creator crafted the Web of Light and the Web of Darkness, there were two separate spheres of existence: one of water and the other of dirt and soil. These lay in the hands of the creator. Only spirits of nature inhabited these lands. This was the Age of Spirits, said to be set before existence. These spirits were happy. They lived, close the creator, and basked in the creator�s glory. But, the creator went against their counsel and fused the two worlds to create the Web of Light and the Web of Darkness. At first, the spirits were annoyed, and at most, jealous that other creatures were created. But, the Age of Spirits continued for a brief period, as the spirits accepted sacrifices from the other creatures, to appease them. Soon, they were forgotten, and the other creatures selfishly started to tear up the world the creator had given them.
In the dawn of existence, the creator had two spheres, one of water and the other of dirt and soil. In the creator�s supreme judgment, the two were climactically combined to form the two worlds called the Webs of Judgment. One was the Web of Light; the other was the Web of Darkness. The Web of Darkness became obsolete after a while, since nothing could grow there. The Web of Light, on the other hand, grew, in prosperity and problems.
The inhabitants were divided into 4 groups: the monsters, the humans, the Terrans and the animals. But, thinking they had better judgment than the creator, each of the greedy populace incorporated into the territories of the others, except the Terrans, who isolated themselves, trusting in the creator�s decision to separate them. They merely took a large continent in the center of the Web of Light. Then, 4 continents were almost wholly taken over by humans, but also welcomed animals. They did not like the monsters, who had abilities inaccessible to them, such as magic and the ability to talk to spirits.
Outraged at the humans and animals, the monsters lashed out at them, attacking them at every occasion. But the monsters still felt left out, and their numbers were decreasing, so they had to flee those 4 islands: Edo, Kamatari, G�lap, and Boon. These were later called the Outer Continents. But, they sailed for many days, and landed in what is now the Main Continent, the home of the Terrans. The Terrans welcomed the monsters for a few weeks, but insisted that they be left alone. The monsters left, for the most part, but left in Terran a warning that the humans and animals would later take over. The Terrans heeded not this advice.
The monsters found 3 small, relatively uninhabited islands, which only had a few animals. With their superior magic, the monsters took these islands and a large portion of the ocean and placed a barrier around it so that the human infidels could not invade it. If a human entered one side of the barrier, that human would be transported instantly to the other side of the barrier, and so this area came under monster control. The missing islands became known as the Dark Islands.
Later, the human inhabitants of the Outer Continents began to colonize, and their first colony was a couple of islands just South East off of the Main Continent, and they called the area Hei-Lan. Then they moved in to the continent controlled by the Terrans. After a fierce war of dominance, the Terrans were forced to all huddle into a small area, only the South Eastern tip of the Main Continent. Later, though, as more colonists arrived, they were forced underground, to live in caves beneath the cities, away from the light.
Now, the Main Continent was taken over, and later, they adopted their isolationist policy, and stayed away from the affairs of the �oppressive� Outer Continents. About half of the island, the North half, became the Nation of Creed. The Western quarter of the continent was the Automaton Empire. A tiny region South East of it was the rich Andante, much fought over in its time. To the East, the State of Byron. A small area beneath it was a warring area conquered by one named Bloody June. Aside from that were the desolate desert in the South West, and the Terran territory, which was almost no longer inhabited by Terrans, at least above ground. The Automaton Empire and the State of Byron had been one country, but became split between 2 twin heirs of a sickly king. Later, it became divided, and several times renamed.
All these areas became heavily ensnared by war for dominance, and in the end, unity of the entire island. But it had never happened. One of the wars was the 6 Years War Campaign. It was when a part of the Andante area and part of the Terran area was still called �toile. There was brutal, frontal, wild warfare there, and no real tactics were used, except those of trying to overpower the enemy. It was a bloodbath, and later, the 7 Kingdoms signed a peace treaty, vowing never again to wage war on each other. The kingdoms were Creed, East Spinner, West Spinner, �toile, Autumn, Terran, and Hei-Lan. But only 10 years later, in something called the 7 Kingdoms� Affair, all the leaders of the nations were killed. The only survivors were one of the perpetrators and the Advisor of the �toile counsel.
The whole continent was united for a while, but later, in-line monarchs took the unity apart and some of them renamed their areas. That survivor of the 7 Kingdoms� Affair, the Advisor, soon became the Dictator of the �toile Government. But, his nation get involved in a strange crusade, and then, it dissipated. Andante and Terran claimed the areas where �toile had been for themselves, and agreed upon borders. Everything where �toile had been was now gone.
The next war should have been a decisive one, but it was not. It was called the War of the Arc, fought between the State of Byron and the Automaton Empire, said to be a war to unify once again the areas. Those areas had once been as one, as the Spinner territory. An anxious Nation of Creed waited for the 2 to unify themselves and tire themselves, becoming easy prey for their �superior� weaponry. Instead, word got out, intercepted by one Jarred Pollack and his group, and the 2 warring nations fought the Credians back in an almost all-out war. But the result of the War of the Arc was not a once-again unified Spinner Arc, but that some of the Terran territory and the whole Andante region had been taken over by the State of Byron, because they had been setting up for an attack on the Automaton Empire. The three superpower nations signed a peace treaty, that they would not attack each other. But diplomatic and political problems festered beneath the surface, and another war was inevitable.
A portion of the history that is often excluded is the part known as the November Chaos. It was a brief period in which the whole of the main continent became infected by a plague known as The Chaos. It happened at around the last months of the War of the Arc. The Chaos would infect humans with deadly incurable diseases, and could even turn humans into rage-driven monsters. It happened because of the failed succession of the Andante throne.
The powerful Andante king, Tito, died, and left his throne to his only daughter, Sara. But because of a few complications, and because of rival monarchs trying to snatch the throne from the young girl, she had to be protected by the trusted prime minister, Rey Faust. But, nevertheless, the area�s government fell apart, and it soon became deserted. Rey, his followers, and Sara lived as commoners for a while, then, right before the period known as the November Chaos, they surfaced, collecting followers from former Andante citizens. Then, Sara used the Sphere of Desire.
The Sphere of Desire is like a �Magic Lamp� of sorts, as it grants the user 1 wish. But, it also unleashes The Chaos, and makes the user immune to The Chaos. The only way to reuse it is to create a paradox in which the wish becomes obsolete, and the damage by The Chaos is all reversed. Sara wished for Andante to be �reborn� and she wished that her army would be so powerful to take over and unify the whole island. But, her advances were stopped, and the events drifted away, not seeming to leave any coherent trace.
And so, the inevitable happened. Even the June area, formerly known as Autumn, is getting involved, and although its land mass was even smaller than Andante�s, its use of genetically engineered, especially bred soldiers, some even with animal and monster traits spliced in, makes it a formidable opponent. That is why the State of Byron�s advances have always been kept back. This is being called the Unity Campaign.
